Despite her low ranking in the latest Pulse Asia survey, Vice President Leni Robredo remains confident of her numbers, her spokesperson said, stressing that the fight hasn’t started yet.
In a statement on Wednesday, July 14, Lawyer Barry Gutierrez said that the vice president has been busy with her COVID-19 programs instead of her perceived presidential run next year.
“VP Leni's numbers are respectable considering that she has been focused on working on COVID-19 response initiatives and has paid no attention to the frantic positioning for 2022 at all,” he added.
If and when Robredo decides to run for president, Gutierrez noted that “we remain confident...the numbers will be there.”
“Hindi pa nagsisimula ang laban (The fight hasn’t started yet),” the spokesman pointed out, referring to the fact that the vice president hasn’t made her decision whether to run or not for the country’s top post.
READ: Robredo on 2022 election plans: 'no decision yet'
Gutierrez took a swipe against other possible presidential candidates who have tarpaulins and billboards already.
“Yung iba diyan, deny ng deny na tatakbo, pero nagkalat naman ang mukha at pangalan sa mga billboard at tarp. Si VP Leni, trabaho lang ang tutok (Others there keep on denying that they will run, but their faces and names are all over billboards and tarpaulins. VP Leni is just focused on her job),” he said.
Presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio recently backtracked on her statements that she doesn’t want to run as president. She said she will think about it, and gauge what the people want.
She, however, stressed that she will not run if her father, President Duterte, will run as vice president.
In the latest Pulse Asia survey for presidential preference conducted from June 7 to 16, 2021, Robredo placed sixth with sixth percent.
Duterte-Carpio came out on top with 28 percent of the 2,400 survey respondents saying they will vote for her if the elections were held today.
She’s followed by Manila Mayor Isko Moreno with 14 percent, former Senator Bongbong Marcos with 13 percent, Senator Grace Poe with 10 percent, and Senator Manny Pacquiao with eight percent.
Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, the President’s long-time aide who is said to be Duterte’s runningmate if he decides to run as vice president, is at eighth place with three
percent.
Robredo has yet to decide on her political plans, though she’s vocal about wanting a united opposition to beat the administration’s candidates next year.